EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The no. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team hosted a top-10 battle on Friday night during their final regular season home game of the year. The Blugolds and no. 1 ranked UW-River Falls Falcons battled hard all night with scoring opportunities at both ends. A flurry of Eau Claire goals in the second period powered UWEC to a 7-4 victory. With the 20th win of the season, head coach Erik Strand became the winningest coach in program history with 141 victories in his 8 seasons.
The opening period saw both teams with opportune chances on their respective offensive zones. UW-Eau Claire's defense held strong as the Blugolds were outshot 12-3 in the first. A single River Falls penalty in the open frame found luck for the Blugolds as both sides hit intermission tied at 0-0.
The Falcons were the first to strike in the second on a breakaway goal in the opening minute. Hallie Sheridan (Sr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) and the Blugolds responded minutes later with an equalizer on a back door from Sami Scherling (Sr. – Rogers, Minn.) to tie the game at 1-1. The Blugolds fell back into a one goal deficit at the 12:38 mark as UWRF found their second lead of the evening. UWEC wouldn't back down as Rachel Mirwald (Fr. – Verona, Wis.) found her first collegiate goal on a rebound off her own shot to even the score with under seven minutes left in the middle period. Keira Bolt (Fr. – Boise, Idaho) received the lone assist on Mirwald's goal that surged a momentum swing for UW-Eau Claire.
Emily Hart (Sr. – Red Wing, Minn.) opened the floodgates for the Blugolds with a powerplay goal from the point at 16:11 to give Eau Claire their first lead of the night. Hallie Sheridan and Ava Bullert (Fr. – North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) earned assists on the special team's tally. Just 33 seconds later, Eden Gruber (Jr. – Wausau, Wis./West) extended the Blugold lead to 4-2 with her ninth tally of the year on a shot from the slot. Sophie Rausch (Sr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) added to the frenzy just a minute later on a shot off the faceoff to put UWEC up 5-2. Sheridan and Scherling both earned assists on the successful faceoff play.
The Falcons found their own answer with less than two minutes left in the period to give the home squad a two goal lead at the second intermission.
In the third, the Blugolds found success on the powerplay once again as Sadie Long (So. – Farmington, Minn.) ripped home a loose puck out front in the opening minutes to extend the Eau Claire lead back to three goals. The Blugolds held their momentum all period long as they outshot the Falcons 11-5. Hallie Sheridan found the game's final tally at the 15:49 mark to seal the 7-4 victory for the Blugolds.
Stephanie Martin (Sr. – Yorktown, Va./Tabb) stopped 28 of the 32 shots she faced in her 19th win of the season. Martin improves her record to 19-2-1 on the year. Head coach Erik Strand earned his 141st win as the Blugolds' bench boss making him UWEC's winningest coach in program history in his 8th season at the helm.
The Blugolds (20-3-1, WIAC 9-1) will finish off the regular season and play for the WIAC regular season title on Saturday, February 18th with another matchup against UW-River Falls. Puck drop is scheduled for 2pm at Hunt Arena in River Falls, Wisconsin.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
